The Slip-Up That Broke My Heart

I’ve been out of my relationship for a few weeks now, and I still can’t stop thinking about the night it all fell apart. We had been together for two years, but everything started unraveling after I graduated and moved to a different city for grad school. She stayed behind because she didn’t feel ready for long distance. It wasn’t easy, but we managed to keep things going through sporadic visits and frequent video calls. But then one night, something happened that broke us both completely. We were talking about the difficulties of our relationship over a call, when I accidentally opened a window with another girl’s photo in it on my laptop. She wasn’t someone new, I’ve had this ongoing crush on her for months, but we never acted on it beyond some friendly texts. My ex-girlfriend noticed and asked me what was going on. I tried to explain that it was just a stupid mistake, but she seemed really hurt by the sight of another woman’s face so close to mine. We ended up arguing for hours about trust, my feelings for this other girl, and how much we both missed being together in person. By the time we hung up, there were no words left to salvage anything. My heart was shattered, not just because she had seen that photo, but also because I knew deep down she couldn’t handle our long-distance anymore. The next day, she told me it was over and that she needed space. And now here I am, still wondering if there was ever any hope left for us after all.